"Has there ever been a time when no stories were told? Has there ever been a people who did not care to listen? I think not." Thus begins a journey through the history of English literature, from the early middle ages to the Victorian era. The young person will experience the most well-loved characters of all time, from Beowulf, the warrior who dares to challenge a terrifying and bloodthirsty monster, to virtuous Una of The Faerie Queene, faithful to the end. H. E. Marshall masterfully weaves selections from the stories into her own retelling, leaving the reader with a keen appreciation for the great books that have become the foundation of Western culture. - Summary by cadastra
Chapters
1
Chapter I: In the Listening Time Read by Heather Eney 9:01
2
Chapter II: The Story of the Cattle Raid of Cooley Read by Gabriel Mc Dermott 13:35
3
Chapter III: One of the Sorrows of Story-telling Read by MaybeCordelia 6:38
4
Chapter IV: The Story of a Literary Lie Read by MaybeCordelia 6:14
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Chapter V: The Story of Fingal Read by MaybeCordelia 8:40
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Chapter VI: About Some Old Welsh Stories Read by Faerie Book Mama 12:01
7
Chapter VII: How the Story of Arthur was Written in English Read by Kim Lamb 15:12
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Chapter VIII: The Beginning of the Reading Time Read by TR Love 13:29
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Chapter IX: "The Passing of Arthur" Read by TR Love 9:46
10
Chapter X: The Adventures of An Old English Book Read by Faerie Book Mama 9:56
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Chapter XI: The Story of Beowulf Read by Alix Grace 10:44
12
Chapter XII: The Father of English Song Read by Kim Lamb 14:32
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Chapter XIII: How Caedmon Sang, and How He Fell Once More on Silence Read by Kim Lamb 11:04
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Chapter XIV: The Father of English History Read by Ruth P. 16:32
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Chapter XV: How Alfred the Great Fought With His Pen Read by RedLily 8:04
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Chapter XVI: When English Slept Read by Wayne Cooke 9:11
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Chapter XVII: The Story of Havelok the Dane Read by nighthawks 12:39
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Chapter XVIII: About Some Song Stories Read by Michele Eaton 13:13
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Chapter XIX: "Piers the Ploughman" Read by Michele Eaton 10:41
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Chapter XX: "Piers the Ploughman" - continued Read by Michele Eaton 13:54
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Chapter XXI: How the Bible Came to the People Read by Ruth P. 12:00
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Chapter XXII: Chaucer - Bread and Milk for Children Read by Alix Grace 7:39
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Chapter XXIII: Chaucer - "The Canterbury Tales" Read by Heather Eney 11:37
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Chapter XXIV: Chaucer - At the Tabard Inn Read by Alix Grace 17:23
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Chapter XXV: The First English Guide-Book Read by Ken Masters 13:43
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Chapter XXVI: Barbour - "The Bruce," The Beginnings of a Struggle Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 14:39
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Chapter XXVII: Barbour - "The End of the Struggle" Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 11:21
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Chapter XXVIII: A Poet King Read by Shasta 17:51
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Chapter XXIX: The Death of the Poet King Read by Shasta 17:25
30
Chapter XXX: Dunbar - The Wedding of the Thistle and the Rose Read by Shasta 17:21
31
Chapter XXXI: At the Sign of the Red Pale Read by Cheryl 18:34
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Chapter XXXII: About the Beginning of the Theater Read by CadenB 13:20
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Chapter XXXIII: How the Shepherds Watched Their Flocks Read by mleigh 12:31
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Chapter XXXIV: The Story of Everyman Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 7:26
35
Chapter XXXV: How a Poet Comforted a Girl Read by Shasta 18:20
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Chapter XXXVI: The Renaissance Read by Wayne Cooke 10:55
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Chapter XXXVII: The Land of Nowhere Read by Cheryl 21:25
38
Chapter XXXVIII: The Death of Sir Thomas More Read by KinoOnik 10:28
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Chapter XXXIX: How the Sonnet Came to England Read by springteacher 14:01
40
Chapter XL: The Beginning of Blank Verse Read by springteacher 9:31
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Chapter XLI: Spenser - The "Shepherd's Calendar" Read by springteacher 18:49
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Chapter XLII: Spenser - The "Faery Queen" Read by MaybeCordelia 15:22
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Chapter XLIII: Spenser - His Last Days Read by nighthawks 12:42
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Chapter XLIV: About the First Theaters Read by Piotr Nater 18:44
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Chapter XLV: Shakespeare - The Boy Read by Ruth P. 13:44
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Chapter XLVI: Shakespeare - The Man Read by Ruth P. 15:47
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Chapter LXVII: Shakespeare - "The Merchant of Venice" Read by Ken Masters 31:21
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Chapter XLVIII: Jonson - "Every Man in His Humour" Read by Vineymala 23:01
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Chapter XLIX: Jonson - "The Sad Shepherd" Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 12:09
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Chapter L: Raleigh - "The Revenge" Read by Heather Eney 25:48
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Chapter LI: Raleigh - "The History of the World" Read by Heather Eney 15:57
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Chapter LII: Bacon - New Ways of Wisdom Read by Heather Eney 20:53
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Chapter LIII: Bacon - The Happy Island Read by Heather Eney 13:03
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Chapter LIV: About Some Lyric Poets Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 14:38
55
Chapter LV: Herbert - The Parson Poet Read by Ken Masters 17:51
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Chapter LVI: Herrick and Marvell - Of Blossoms and Bowers Read by Ken Masters 24:46
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Chapter LVII: Milton - Sight and Growth Read by Night 22:45
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Chapter LVIII: Milton - Darkness and Death Read by Night 21:14
59
Chapter LIX: Bunyan - "The Pilgrim's Progress" Read by Ruth P. 27:39
60
Chapter LX: Dryden - The New Poetry Read by Brooke Favorat 25:40
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Chapter LXI: Defoe - The First Newspaers Read by Traceyann 16:22
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Chapter LXII: Defoe - "Robinson Crusoe" Read by ABVoice 14:39
63
Chapter LXIII: Swift - The "Journal to Stella" Read by CadenB 15:51
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Chapter LXIV: Swift - "Gulliver's Travels" Read by CadenB 15:33
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Chapter LXV: Addison - The "Spectator" Read by Margaret Lange 28:40
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Chapter LXVI: "Steele - The Soldier Author Read by Margaret Lange 19:32
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Chapter LXVII: Pope - "The Rape of the Lock" Read by Vineymala 29:49
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Chapter LXVIII: Johnson - Days of Struggle Read by Wayne Cooke 18:23
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Chapter LXIX: Johnson - The End of the Journey Read by Gini Rosario 22:36
70
Chapter LXX: Goldsmith - The Vagabond Read by Margaret Lange 15:13
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Chapter LXXI: Goldsmith - "The Vicar of Wakefield" Read by Christina Fu 15:49
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Chapter LXXXII: Burns - The Plowman Poet Read by Gini Rosario 25:38
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Chapter LXXIII: Cowper - "The Task" Read by Wayne Cooke 11:47
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Chapter LXXIV: Wordsworth - The Poet of Nature Read by Aric Reed 12:11
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Chapter LXXV: Wordsworth and Coleridge - the Lake Poets Read by W. L. Bolm 19:52
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Chapter LXXVI: Coleridge and Southey - Sunshine and Shadow Read by Wayne Cooke 14:01
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Chapter LXXVII: Scott - The Awakening of Romance Read by Heather Eney 16:50
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Chapter LXXVIII: Scott - "The Wizard of the North" Read by Aric Reed 13:28
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Chapter LXXIX: Byron - "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" Read by Alan Mapstone 22:59
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Chapter LXXX: Shelley - The Poet of Love Read by Lynda Marie Neilson 30:24
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Chapter LXXXI: Keats - The Poet of Beauty Read by MaybeCordelia 18:40
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Chapter LXXXII: Carlyle - The Sage of Chelsea Read by TR Love 27:14
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Chapter LXXXIII: Thackeray - The Cynic? Read by TR Love 23:56
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Chapter LXXXIV: Dickens - Smiles and Tears Read by mleigh 30:00
85
Chapter LXXXV: Tennyson - The Poet of Friendship Read by MaybeCordelia 15:55
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
